At a glance
- Can foreigners use Pix? Yes. Pix has no nationality rule. The barrier is the account behind it.
- The usual requirements: a CPF, a Brazilian bank account, and a Brazilian phone number the bank app verifies.
- Pix without a CPF: possible with Liminal. Verify your identity once with your passport, and Pix is ready.
- Completely free with Liminal: no fees on Pix, and you pay straight from your USD balance.
- Limits: from $5 per payment, up to R$10,000.
How to use Pix in Brazil
Pix is Brazil’s instant payment system, run by the central bank. A payment moves from one account to another in seconds, at any hour, including weekends. There are three ways to pay:
- Scan a QR code. The most common way at a till, a taxi or a market stall. The code tells your app who to pay and, often, how much.
- Paste a Pix Copia e Cola code. The same payment as a QR code, written out as text. Landlords, online shops and friends send these by WhatsApp or email.
- Type a Pix key. A key is an identifier someone has linked to their account: a CPF or CNPJ, an email address, a phone number, or a random key. Your app shows the name it belongs to before you pay.
Pix can also save you money. Many local businesses offer a discount for paying by Pix, so look out for desconto no Pix on menus, price tags and shop windows. For the full background, see What is Pix?.
Why Pix is hard for foreigners, and how Liminal fixes it
Usually, Pix only works through an account at a Brazilian bank or licensed payment company, and opening one means clearing three hurdles. With Liminal, you skip all three.
A CPF
Brazilian banks need a CPF (Cadastro de Pessoas Físicas), Brazil’s tax number. It is free at a Brazilian consulate, or in person at a Receita Federal partner in Brazil, but it is not always easy to get, especially if you are not on a visa or only spend part of the year in Brazil. With Liminal, you do not need one: you verify your identity with your passport or a national ID from home.
A Brazilian bank account
Even digital banks usually ask for a CPF, and many ask for proof of residence or a residence card (RNM) as well. With Liminal, there is no Brazilian account to open: Pix runs against your Liminal balance.
A Brazilian phone number
Bank apps verify your device by SMS to a Brazilian number, which means a local SIM, which itself usually asks for a CPF. With Liminal, no Brazilian number is needed.
Can you use Pix without a CPF?
Through a Brazilian bank, almost never. With Liminal, yes. You verify your identity in the app once, accept our Pix partner’s terms, and Pix is switched on. Payments come straight out of your USD balance, and the conversion to reais happens behind the scenes.
You keep the parts that make Pix feel safe. Before you confirm, the app shows the name the Pix directory holds for that key or QR code, so you can check you are paying the right café or the right landlord.
Pix for tourists and other gringos
Tourists have the hardest time with Pix. A short trip is not long enough to get a CPF, open a bank account and register a SIM, and plenty of smaller sellers, beach kiosks and street food stalls take Pix only.
With Liminal, you can set Pix up before the flight. Verify your identity at home, add money, and scan your first QR code at the airport taxi rank. You do not need a Brazilian SIM: mobile data or Wi-Fi is enough to pay.
The same goes for digital nomads and anyone new in Brazil. For every route a gringo can take to Pix, with what each one needs and costs, see our Pix for gringos guide.
Setting up Pix with Liminal
- Download Liminal and sign up.
- Verify your identity with your passport or national ID. No CPF, no Brazilian address, no Brazilian phone number.
- Add money to your balance (see below).
- Open Pix and accept our Pix partner’s terms the first time. That is the whole setup.
Adding money to pay by Pix
Pix payments come straight out of your USD balance. You can fill it the way that suits where your money is now:
- US dollars: a bank transfer in dollars lands in your USD balance as it is.
- Pounds: a top-up in pounds lands in your USD balance, ready to spend.
- Euros: a bank transfer in euros lands in a euro balance. Converting it to dollars for Pix costs 0.24%, shown before you confirm.
Have reais in a Brazilian account already? You can also top up by Pix, and it lands in dollars.
Fees and limits
Pix is completely free with Liminal. There are no fees on Pix payments, and you pay straight from your USD balance, with no foreign card markup on top. The review screen shows the exchange rate, the amount in reais and the total in dollars before you confirm.
- Per payment: from $5, up to R$10,000.
- Your remaining limits: one tap away on the review screen, with what is left and when a limit resets.
Payments under $5, a single coxinha or a bus fare, are below the minimum, so keep a little cash or a card for those.
Topping up with Pix
Already have reais in a Brazilian account, or someone who can send them? You can top up your Liminal balance by Pix. Open Pix, choose to add money, enter the amount in reais (R$10 to R$10,000), and the app shows a Pix QR code and a Copia e Cola code. Pay it from any Brazilian bank app and the money lands in your balance in dollars, ready to spend.
Do foreigners need a CPF?
Not to get started. You do not need a CPF for Pix with Liminal, and you do not need one to have somewhere to live: plenty of hosts on Airbnb offer longer stays at a monthly rate, so you can live in one while you look for a rental and sort out a CPF.
A CPF becomes useful once you settle in, for a standard lease, a phone contract, buying from Brazilian online shops and, eventually, a residence permit. If you are coming on a visa, you can apply for a CPF before you fly.
The point is the order. With Liminal you can pay like a local on your first day, and get a CPF when it suits you, not before you can buy lunch.
Pay like a local from day one
Pix is how Brazil pays for almost everything. Being locked out of it as a foreigner is the most common, and most avoidable, frustration of the first weeks.
Liminal gives you Pix without a CPF, a Brazilian bank account or a Brazilian phone number, from a multi-currency balance you control. Comparing your options? See the best Pix app for foreigners.